Finger fracture puts Aiden Markram out of remainder of England series

South Africa opener Aiden Markram will miss the remainder of the four-Test series against England after sustaining a fracture to his left ring finger.

Markram picked up the injury while fielding on the second day of the ongoing Centurion Test. It was reset at time and he continued to play, but x-rays taken afterwards suggested he should sit out. Markram, who scored 20 and 2 in the match, is scheduled for surgery early next week and will miss at least eight weeks of action.

Before this game, Markram last played an international match in October, failing to get off the mark in either innings of the Pune Test against India. After his dismissal in the second innings, Markram fractured his wrist when he "lashed out at a solid object" in frustration and subsequently missed the Mzansi Super League.

"Aiden sustained a fracture affecting the distal joint of his left ring finger," CSA's chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said. "After consulting with a number of hand specialists yesterday we arrived at a decision that the best outcome would be achieved through surgical reduction and fixation.

"This would mean him unfortunately missing the rest of the series against England. We feel for Aiden who worked extremely hard to come through his previous hand fracture sustained in India to be Test match ready."